THCT608 - Theology of Marriage and Holy Orders

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Teaching organisation

This unit involves 150 hours of focused learning or the equivalent of 10 hours per week for 15 weeks. The total includes formally structured learning activities such as lectures, tutorials, online learning, video-conferencing, or supervision. The remaining hours typically involve reading, research, and the preparation of tasks for assessment.

Unit rationale, description and aim

This unit studies the Catholic sacraments of service: Marriage and Holy Orders. Both sacraments will be considered in terms of their biblical and theological foundations, historical development, ritual enactment and contemporary issues, in dialogue with pertinent ecclesial documents. The unit will consider Marriage as a lifelong covenantal partnership between a baptized man and woman, and as contract, covenant and sacrament. It will articulate the distinctive nature of sacramental Marriage amid social definitional debate on marriage; and will address questions of divorce, remarriage and communion. In its examination of Holy Orders, the unit will analyse Vatican II’s teaching on the priesthood of the faithful and its relationship to the ministerial priesthood; the three degrees of Holy Orders; the restoration of the permanent diaconate; and the Church’s teaching on the Catholic priesthood, celibacy and gender. An investigation of contemporary Roman Catholic sacramental rituals of Marriage and Holy Orders will reveal the Church’s doctrine of service embedded in the enacted theology of these sacraments. The aim of this unit is to provide students with a solid theological understanding of the sacraments of service (Marriage and Holy Orders) in the Catholic tradition, exploring key theological concepts undergirding these sacraments drawn from scripture, history and practice, and investigating the ritual celebration and sociological context of these sacraments today.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - Exhibit an understanding of the biblical and theological foundations, and historical development of Marriage and Holy Orders (GA4, GA5, GA8)

LO2 - Articulate the distinctiveness of sacramental Marriage and demonstrate familiarity with current Catholic teaching on contemporary questions surrounding marriage (GA4, GA5, GA8)

LO3 - Analyse the evolution of Marriage from contract to sacrament (GA4, GA8)

LO4 - Display an understanding of the theology of Marriage expressed in the Order of Celebrating Matrimony (2015) (GA4, GA8, GA9)

LO5 - Explain the essential distinction between the priesthood of the faithful and the ordained priesthood (GA4, GA8)

LO6 - Distinguish the three degrees of Holy Orders and articulate the Church’s teachings on the male priesthood and celibacy (GA4, GA8)

LO7 - Identify the Church’s doctrine of service embedded in the enacted sacramental theology of Marriage and Holy Orders (GA4, GA5, GA8, GA9)

Graduate attributes

GA4 - think critically and reflectively 

GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession 

GA8 - locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information 

GA9 - demonstrate effective communication in oral and written English language and visual media 

Content

Topics will include:

·        The sacraments at the service of the Communion

·        Biblical and theological foundations of Marriage

·        Evolving theological models of Marriage: contract, covenant, sacrament

·        Living the sacrament of Marriage: unity, indissolubility and openness to life

·        Theology of Marriage in the 2015 Order of Celebrating Matrimony

·        Contemporary issues surrounding Marriage

·        The priesthood of the faithful and the ministerial priesthood

·        Biblical and theological foundations of Holy Orders

·        Evolving theological models of Holy Orders

·        Consecrated for service: the pastoral roles of the ordained and complementary lay ecclesial ministries

·        Theology of Holy Orders as expressed in the rites of Ordination

·        Contemporary issues surrounding Holy Orders

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

This unit involves 150 hours of focused learning or the equivalent of 10 hours per week for 15 weeks. The total includes formally structured learning activities such as lectures, tutorials, online learning, video-conferencing, or supervision. The remaining hours typically involve reading, research, and the preparation of tasks for assessment.

The unit is normally offered in intensive face-to-face mode which enables students to interact directly with the lecturer and fellow class members as they consider carefully structured and sequenced unit materials designed to support the achievement of the unit’s learning outcomes. In face-to-face class sessions students are provided with the opportunity to learn with experts in sacramental theology and to work collaboratively in groups to discuss key principles and critically analyse their application to specific practical examples; identify and assess their own presuppositions and current perceptions regarding liturgical celebrations and how these might change in light of exposure to unit content; and engage in practical activities which enable them to reflect critically on key unit content, analyse and integrate new information with existing knowledge, draw meaningful new connections, and then work individually to apply what they have learned in assessment tasks. Assessment tasks are integrated into the unit as appropriate to the mode in which it is offered (i.e., students may prepare and present an assessment task during the intensive week; if the unit is offered in a different mode – e.g., fully online, in-class presentation assessments may be replaced with a different equivalent task appropriate to the mode of learning). Assessment tasks are designed to provide a variety of opportunities for students to demonstrate their achievement of the unit’s learning outcomes and to enable them to go beyond the unit materials presented during the face-to-face classes so that they can engage in analysis and research tasks which require them to apply the knowledge they have gained through exposure to the unit’s lectures, tutorials, readings, analyses and exercises.

The intensive face-to-face mode of learning requires students to attend class sessions and interact actively with the lecturer and fellow class members during those sessions to learn and begin integrating key concepts covered in the unit; and to work in small groups to prepare and offer presentations in class. Following the class, students are expected to work independently to integrate and embed concepts, information and principles covered during the class sessions through follow-up reading, individual research, writing and submission of assessment tasks.

Assessment strategy and rationale

To pass this unit students are required to attempt all assessment tasks and achieve a cumulative grade of Pass (50% or higher). The assessment tasks for this unit are designed to enable students to demonstrate their achievement of each learning outcome.

Assessment Task 1: In-class Presentation of a Critical Reflection requires students to prepare and present a critical reflection on a contemporary issue related to the sacrament of Holy Orders referencing the Church’s teaching on the sacrament and other academic writing and current ecclesial commentary on the issue under consideration. In their presentation students will reflect critically on and argue for a realistic solution to the issue studied. Students will submit a written copy of their presentation. This assessment task provides an opportunity for students to articulate and defend their position on a contemporary issue of sacramental theology in dialogue with church teaching and relevant academic resources.

 Assessment Task 2 – Analysis: requires students to analyse and describe how the priesthood of the faithful and the doctrine of service are evident in the enacted theology of either Marriage or Holy Orders, referencing relevant Church documents and secondary literature. This assessment task provides an opportunity for students to demonstrate and articulate their understanding of two key aspects of the theology under consideration in this unit in a focused manner.

 Assessment Task 3: Major Essay – utilising the knowledge gained through lectures, exercises unit materials and readings, (along with relevant additional primary and secondary bibliographic references) students will research and write a major essay which enables them to engage in an extended investigation and critical consideration of a topic central to the unit. This assessment offers students the chance to demonstrate a synthesis of knowledge and insight gained throughout the unit.

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Ditewig, William T. The Deacon's Ministry of Charity and Justice. Collegeville: Liturgical, 2015.

Gaillardetz, Richard R. A Daring Promise: A Spirituality of Christian Marriage. Rev. ed. Ligouri MO: Triumph, 2007.

Lawler, Michael. Marriage and the Catholic Church: Disputed Questions. Collegeville: Liturgical, 2002.

Mitchell, Nathan. Mission and Ministry: History and Theology in the Sacrament of Order. Collegeville: Liturgical/Michael Glazier, 1982.

Philbert, Paul. J. The Priesthood of the Faithful: Key to a Living Church. Collegeville: Liturgical 2005.

Rubio, Julie Hanlon. A Christian Theology of Marriage and Family. Mahwah NY: Paulist, 2003.

Salzman, Todd, Thomas M. Kelly and John J. O’Keefe, eds. Marriage in the Catholic Tradition: Scripture, Tradition and Experience. New York: Crossroad, 2004.

Witte, John. From Sacrament to Contract: Marriage, Religion, and Law in the Western Tradition. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 2012.

Wood, Susan K. Sacramental Orders. Lex Orandi Series. John D. Laurence, ed. Collegeville: Liturgical 2000.

Wood, Susan K., ed. Ordering the Baptismal Priesthood: Theologies of Lay and Ordained Ministry. Collegeville: Liturgical, 2003.